Unless otherwise stated, all images, content and recipes are original and are the sole property of Mary Foreman, DeepSouthDish.com. No photographs or other content may be used without prior written consent.

Privacy Disclosure

Any personal information you provide (e.g., name, email address, etc) will never be released to any entities outside Deep South Dish. As with most websites and blogs across the Internet, third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to websites.

Affiliate Disclaimer

Deep South Dish is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products at amazon.com. Your support is greatly appreciated - Thank You!

Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Thursday, April 17, 2014

A classic, cold salad made from carrots, raisins and pineapple, sometimes coconut and peanuts, and dressed with a sweetened mayonnaise.

Classic Carrot Raisin Salad

We are still in the process of moving out of our old home, while the new house is looking more and more like we have lived here for 20 years! And the garage, oh you don't even want to know what that looks like, but as I have the energy, I bring in a box and go through it.

We are moving all of the Christmas stuff, the china from the china cabinet and have a freezer and a few pieces of furniture to go and we'll be finished... finally. The Cajun and I were so tired and hungry yesterday afternoon that we stopped by Hartz's Fried Chicken and treated ourselves to their buffet for an early supper.

Image: UrbanSpoon

It's pretty much a little hole in the wall, local joint, that has been around forever and has really good fried chicken. Located just over the Biloxi-Ocean Springs bridge in Ocean Springs, right on Highway 90, when we are in the mood for fried chicken without the homemade mess, it's our favorite place for to go chicken, right along with Popeye's, of course. They do lots of drive through business of course, but the buffet is pretty popular too, and a great deal at just over $9.00 - all you can eat and drink - and far as I can tell, the food is all prepared homemade.

The outside shot above is from Urbanspoon. I would have taken photos myself, but frankly I left my cell phone and my purse at home, which I know is a foreign concept to some. I guess I'm old school, because I literally do not like having a cell phone tethered to me all the time and I just don't get that modern obsession. It's a bit freeing to just leave it at home occasionally!

Hartz has all of the classic garden salad ingredients - including beets, which I love - and all kinds of other favorite salads of the South. You'll find potato salad, coleslaw, creamy pea salad and carrot salad, along with plenty of veggies and other sides, like buttered corn, stewed green beans, turnip greens, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, mac and cheese and chicken and dumplings.

Oh yeah, and, of course, their fabulous fried chicken, including the largest breast pieces you will ever see, catfish, fried gizzards and livers, along with baked chicken and their homemade yeast rolls, which are divine. For dessert there's soft serve ice cream and usually peach cobber and bread pudding. There is more on the buffet than I can remember and it was all so good, just thinking about it makes me hungry all over!

I am a vegetable lover, so I always fill my plate with the veggies and sides and have one piece of chicken and a few livers. I love the carrot salad and had to have two servings of it, which also reminded me that I hadn't posted my recipe yet. This is the perfect time of the year for carrot salad really, and with Easter around the corner, an excellent addition to the table.

Everybody makes it pretty much the same - carrots, raisins, pineapple and a sweet mayo dressing, but I also like the addition of salted cocktail peanuts and sometimes, a little shredded, sweetened coconut for that salty, sweet flavor. The peanuts soften, but still retain a nice crunch, though you may also wait to add them just before you're ready to serve the salad if you want them to be crisp. Both are completely optional however and the salad is good even without them, though if you omit the peanuts, include a pinch of salt.

I use my Ninja system with the food processor pot to make an easy task out of shredding the carrots. Sure do love this thing!

To a covered bowl, add the carrots, raisins and pineapple; toss. I've used both tidbits and crushed and they are both good. Today I only had crushed in the pantry.

Whisk together the mayonnaise and sugar, add to the salad and toss. If you're a fan of Miracle Whip, this is a perfect salad to use it. I don't have any objection to sweet mayo (though my Mama certainly did!) but I use Duke's the most and always have it on hand, so I prefer to sweeten the mayo myself when recipes call for it.

Sometimes I add in coconut and this time I added in some dried cranberries I had in the freezer. I really like the sweet and salty contrast.

Taste and adjust, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Add enough of the reserved pineapple juice to moisten just before serving.

To a covered bowl, add the carrots, raisins and pineapple; toss. Refrigerate reserved pineapple juice. Whisk together the mayonnaise and sugar, add to the salad and toss. Taste and adjust, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Add enough of the reserved pineapple juice to moisten just before serving.

Cook's Notes: If raisins are not very soft or plump, pour enough boiling water over them to cover and let sit for about 5 minutes or until then soften and plump up; drain well then proceed. May substitute plain or Greek yogurt for the mayo - peach yogurt is a really nice variation and adds great flavor, but taste before adding any sugar. May also use a salad dressing like Miracle Whip for the mayonnaise, again taste before adding any sugar. May also substitute dried cranberries for the raisins, or use some of both. Other salted nuts - walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds - may also be used, or omit the nuts altogether, but add a pinch of salt. May also add in sliced bananas and/or apples just before serving. You may also need to adjust sugar according to the type of pineapple you are using.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

21 comments:

For me it was Jerry's Fried Chicken in Long Beach. I just tried to google it to see if it was still there but no luck.

LOL Maybe after 30 years I can go back and check on it myself and sneak in for a roast beast po'boy at the Pirates Cove (even though it's not where it used to be I heard), surely the statute of limitations has expired lol.

I believe I'll pass on the carrot salad though lol. But dem creamed peas and taters I made from your recipe today sure were good. Just what the lady who asked me to make them wanted.

If she would ever take my advise and read your blog herself, she wouldn't need me and I wouldn't get free veggies from her veggie stand anymore lol. Well I reckon my BBQ would still get me a few maters at least..........

LOL! Not even gonna ask what happened at Pirate's Cove! :) I sure love those creamed peas - so glad y'all enjoyed them & that it was what the lady you made them for remembered. Far as she goes, well, I'd just keep the deal you have - match made in heaven!

We used to go through the drive-thru and have a late afternoon picnic on Front Beach (I have since moved to Opelousas and miss the great chicken and the green beans!) Love the carrot salad with the dried cranberries variation! It will be on the table on Sunday! Thanks!

Hartz has really good fried chicken. I have always gotten take out since my daughter and grandson were involved. I can vouch for their taters and gravy and fried okra. Hope to be in Ocean Springs permanently before long and will definitely try the buffet. It looks great.

I'll be making this for Easter as well as pea salad. My mom and nana always made carrot salad, but we put MARSHMALLOWS in it! lol i know it sounds weird but its really good. They kind of melt into the Miracle Whip just a bit. I told my mother-in-law (and her entire family) about it over Christmas and they all thought I was insane, but wanted to try it. My husbands family is first generation Irish (mom) and Italian (dad) and most of them have never left the state of New Jersey. LOL So they are always "intrigued" by my cooking.... It's always a riot over holidays. I feel like I'm in an episode of the Sopranos. But I always bring something Southern to the table.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

From time to time, anonymous restrictions and/or comment moderation may be activated due to comment spam. I also reserve the right to edit, delete or otherwise exercise total editorial discretion over any comments left on this blog. If your comment serves only to be snarky, mean-spirited or argumentative, it will be deleted. Please mind your manners.

Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or RSS feed, or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. ~Julia Child

The classic southern plate for supper is made up of meat and three, cornbread or rolls & a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Oftentimes what makes a recipe southern, is as much a state of mind as it is a matter of geography - Southerners simply decide a particular food is southern, and that's that." ~Rick McDaniel, Food Historian

Material Disclosure: This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,
an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from the provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

DISCLAIMER: This is a recipe site intended for entertainment. By using this site and these recipes you agree that you do so at your own risk, that you are completely responsible for any liability associated with the use of any recipes obtained from this site, and that you fully and completely release Mary Foreman and Deep South Dish LLC and all parties associated with either entity, from any liability whatsoever from your use of this site and these recipes.

ALL CONTENT PROTECTED UNDER THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT. CONTENT THEFT, EITHER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC, IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE. Recipes may be printed ONLY for personal use and may not be transmitted, distributed, reposted, or published elsewhere, in print or by any electronic means. Seek explicit permission before using any content on this site, including partial excerpts, all of which require attribution linking back to specific posts on this site. I have, and will continue to act, on all violations.